Intergalactically Yours
by artcmisia
Summary: {Pt.II of TCDI Series} It's not that I've never been able to 'play well' with others, but honestly, how do I deal with a golden boy super-soldier, a 'green rage-monster' physicist, two assassins, a snarky tosser of a billionaire, and a demigod? If I don't lose my sanity, this just might be the highlight of my life.. Might. {rated for lang; slight hiatus bc of school}
1. Prologue - Call Me (On the Line)

_**an** : hey, guys! just a teeny-tiny note, if you haven't already read ' **The Cosmic Disturbance Indication** ', please do so, otherwise you might get lost in this... and with that, i'll let you read. enjoy!_

 _ **disclaimer**! i obviously don't own The Avengers or MARVEL; Evelyn "Evee" Davies (aka Athena) belongs to me._

* * *

 _{Prologue} **Call Me (On the Line)**_

* * *

Bills, bills, bills.

Leafing through the white envelopes, her fair face formed into a frown, the woman lowered the near-dozen formal envelopes that demanded her payments of this or that. She looked about the front room of her small apartment and exhaled, placing the envelopes down on the nearby coffee table colored black and loosely ran a hand through her dark hair.

She hadn't been home in months and while she had expected to be flooded with bills and junk mail, it still felt empty. Her life was rather a far cry from _'feeling empty'_ , to be frank, given her newest job she'd taken.

Wandering into her bedroom, she flicked the light switch on —surprised it still worked given she had neglected the utility payments— and her eyes fell on the familiar sight of her four-poster with a sigh she hadn't realized she'd been withholding. Tossing her phone onto the metallic blue comforter, she threw herself onto her bed and groaned, grappling for her pillow and pulling it to her, grinning fondly at the bit of solace she had longed for since she had boarded the plane for London.

Maybe a nap wouldn't be too bad of a temptation to succumb to…

 **|~ii~|**

She hadn't known just how long she had slept, but the dull beeping of her earpiece sounded loud in her eardrums, rousing her from her nap.

"Not now…" She grumbled, vainly wishing she could ignore the damn noise, but to no avail… Lifting her head from the pillow she had held onto, she tapped the piece with a finger. Why she hadn't pulled it out before taking her nap, she didn't know why; she'd have to have a chat with her boss about it someday soon. "Talk to me." She greeted the caller.

" _Your vacation is going to have to be cut short, Davies; got a mission for you_."

"Right, and Queen Elizabeth is my aunt. I'm not up for some training exercise, Coulson…"

" _It's the real thing, Davies. You'll receive further details upon arrival to the new HQ_."

Pausing when hearing both the serious tone in his voice and the words 'new headquarters', she opened her eyes and rolled onto her back, staring up at the pale blue covering over her bed. "'New HQ', how? Don't tell me your boys imploded the original HQ." She snorted slightly at that.

Whether he chose to acknowledge her derision or ignored it, he stated calmly, " _You'll receive a formal explanation when you rendezvous with your ride within thirty minutes._ " Boy, he wasn't bluffing, was he?

Her slender hand fell down her lovely face as the woman grumbled inaudibly. "Give me the itinerary; I'm on my way out now."

So much for her mini-vacation.

* * *

 _ **an** : well it's not much, i know, but it's something! anywho, reviews are loved and such, and i'm curious to see what you guys think so far of the sequel. anyway, lates. (:_

 _" **Call Me** " by **Blondie**_


	2. Dig Up the Bones

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* * *

 _{Ch.1} **Dig Up the Bones**_

* * *

Did she enjoy her job? It was a different experience for her, so she would have to say ' _yes'_.

Did she hate being in the open as a part of this mission? You bet your ass.

" _Do you have a clear shot?_ "

Her slender fingers found comfort in the familiar tug that pulled her bowstring back so her right hand's knuckles were poised at her cheek, her piercing green stare fixated on the obvious spectacle below. "Just waiting on you, Cap." She replied into the headset.

While she had done her best to be inconspicuous when both she and her partner had been dispatched only blocks away from the spectacle going on below her vantage point, she maintained a good shot of her target.

Obviously her target enjoyed making a show of himself… She'd read the files, and from what she recalled of the near-microscopic knowledge she had of him, it didn't surprise her one bit.

A jet of blue energy streaked from the tip of their target's gold scepter, and nearly hit the elderly gentleman who had chosen to speak out against him; she gripped the metal arch of her bow and subconsciously relaxed when her partner intervened in time, negating the energy with the star-spangled shield he wielded only for the blast to connect with their target's torso and knock him back onto the concrete.

"Feeling nostalgic, Rogers?" She smirked and she could imagine he heard it in her tone.

Straightening, the super-soldier kept his blue stare on the helmet-wearing god. "The last time I was in Germany and saw a man standing above everyone else, we had a bit of a disagreement…" He said as he made his way to the front of the kneeling crowd, the lattermost having risen to their feet as he passed them.

Loki gave a wry chuckle as he straightened using his scepter as a crutch, "The soldier. A man out of time itself!" He said.

"I'm not the one who's out of time…" Steve Rogers remarked wryly, looking up as their jet came into view, and there was a metallic clicking as the driver brandished the aircraft's ' _toys_ '.

" _Loki, drop the weapon and stand down_." Romanoff's voice came over the PA, only for the scepter-wielding god to shoot another blast of energy at the jet.

Her arrow streaked through the air to miss its target who, had heard the arrow whizz past his left ear; the dark-haired god had heard it coming and moved aside in time, his eyes beholding the archer that stepped into the light of the nearest streetlamp.

Evelyn held the cold blue stare of the lesser son of Asgard with a stony look of her own on her lovely face, having lowered the hood of her jacket to be better seen, and she gripped the metal bow held in her dominant hand.

Loki's pale face brightened with an odd, almost eerie, smile that curled his lips upward. "We meet at last, my _dear_ Athena." He said, having recalled she had been the insolent goddess-incarnate that had kicked the Destroyer's face in that miserable little Midgardian village.

"Davies, now!" Rogers declared as he tossed his shield at the god, knocking him back as the oversized disk returned to his outstretched hand.

Backing slightly on the rooftop, she inhaled only to leap off the roof and join the fight, swinging her bow as a blunt weapon at Loki when the Captain had his attention; she gritted her teeth as he blocked her swing with his scepter, slight sparks flying from the connected weapons.

"I can see now why my dearest brother took such interest in you; frankly I don't blame him…" Loki drawled as he had punted the star-spangled man away to focus on the brunette goddess that was holding her own against him fairly well.

Evelyn smirked coldly in return, "Sweet words like those will only make it bloody-well _enjoyable_ for me to bash your skull in, Laufeyson." She disengaged the locked weapons with a quick gesture to shove him back roughly, extending her left leg to kick him.

Catching her leg quickly, Loki relished the surprise and anger that flitted in her dangerous green stare, and he smirked deviously before tossing her away as if she weighed like a feather.

 _Okay, now he was going to die_ … Lifting herself up from having hit a streetlamp pole and rubbing her head, Evelyn caught Steve's kick that knocked the god back and she huffed. "Cap you're making me look like a rookie, here." She jested dryly as she straightened to her feet.

" _You're technically **still** a rookie, Davies_." Her slight smirk fell when hearing a different male voice speak into her earpiece, and she looked heavenward as the song ' **Shoot to Thrill** ' blared in the dark sky as it came from a familiar red and gold suit. The suit landed just before the god that had been knocked back by the super-soldier, every weapon possible inside the red and gold bot's arsenal coming into view as they were aimed at Loki. " _Make a move, Reindeer Games._ " When the god lifted his hands in defeat as his armor disappeared with a strange gold glow, the suit lowered its weapons. " _Good move!_ " He said.

Evelyn deadpanned. "I'll be damned." She shrugged her bow onto her shoulder as she jogged to her partner's side and offered a hand of aid. "We got him, Romanoff." She said into her earpiece.

Steve took her hand and straightened with little help from the brunette, slightly winded, but he and Evelyn trodded to surround the defeated god. "Mr. Stark." He greeted the suit.

" _Captain_." Tony Stark paused when not entirely recognizing the brunette woman, " _I don't think we've met before…?_ "

"Evelyn Davies." The archer nodded slightly, looking on the cowed god and folding her arms at her chest. "I've only heard wind of your… _notoriety_ , Mr. Stark. Nice to put a face to the rumors." She glanced at the metal man as his flat face-plate lifted to show the billionaire behind the proverbial mask, and she smirked bemusedly.

"Tony Stark." He nodded back, taking a brief glance at her attire, "Surprised SHIELD didn't equip you with a black-on-black ensemble." He returned.

Evelyn shrugged as she heard the jet touch down near them, "They tried, didn't work with my skin tone." She said sardonically, turning to follow Steve as he carried Loki to the jet's opened hatch by the arm, with Stark following shortly.

Loki looked back at the female archer as she and the metal man waited for the super-soldier to secure him in the jet, "Such a _wonderful_ happenstance meeting you, darling." He said with a wink, turning away.

Evelyn's lip curled. "Should've let me kill him…" She grumbled as she boarded the jet.

"Old boyfriend? Seems he likes you too much for this to be a first meeting." Stark commented blandly as he followed her and soon they were airborne and back to the hovercraft base, looking on the archer.

"Not exactly. He sort of leveled my friend's house with a giant flame-throwing robot months ago."

" _'Sort of'_ how?"

"His brother destroyed the robot."

"Not exactly a _normal_ kind of woman, are you?" Stark scoffed bemusedly at piecing it together in his head, looking at her.

"No actually." Evelyn gave a brief humorless laugh at that, shuffling to sit on the row of seats on the left of the jet.

The remainder of their ride was overall quiet, the archer having relaxed against the somewhat-uncomfortable back of the seat she sat on with her ankles crossed.

She had never been much of a talker, and although she was one for quiet, this sort of silence didn't make her comfortable… Especially with their detainee who, much to her chagrin, had seemed to take a shine to her.

Frankly she would volunteer without hesitation to _beat_ the answers out of his smug face. She had a bit of bad blood with him for what he had done in New Mexico.

Evelyn straightened slightly when Steve joined her on the seats and sat at her left, and she glanced at him with curiosity in her green eyes.

"I don't like it…" Steve muttered to her, earning a lift of her brow before she glanced over at their detainee.

"What, that _Rock of Ages_ gave up so easily?" Stark wondered, having overheard him; it was rather hard to not hear him, seeing as noone else was talking and the jet was basically silent.

"Assholes like this bloke aren't known to give in so willingly… _Not_ without a contingency plan." Evelyn said dryly, folding her arms at her chest.

Steve smirked a little at the archer's coarse tongue, adding quietly, "This guy packs a wallop, too."

"Regardless, you're rather spry for an old fellow…" Stark commented as he looked on the super-soldier, "What's your secret; palates?"

"What?" Steve raised a brow in confusion, not missing the archer's hand that slid down her face in slight exasperation with the fourth member of their little group.

"It's like calisthenics; you might've missed a few things, y'know, doing time as a… Capsicle." Stark shrugged, his remark not exactly sitting well with the blonde, given the glare he was being given.

"Fury didn't say he was calling you in." Steve chose to return instead of using the same coarse language the archer had used; she _was_ a lady, even if she didn't act like it.

Stark snorted slightly, "Fury doesn't tell you about a lot of things… Which reminds me, I'm still surprised he sent in a rookie on a retrieval mission this… _dire_ , is the word?" He added as he recalled he hadn't read much on the archer, seeing her stiffen slightly at his singling her out.

Evelyn tilted her head slightly as she looked at him, her green eyes cold, "On top of _narcissist_ , the files failed to mention you were _sexist_ too. Doesn't surprise me, really; a tosser billionaire womanizer like you… _Typical_." She declared, raising a brow in challenge when seeing she had slightly ruffled his feathers. She sat back in her seat and would've relaxed again had her shoulder not suddenly throbbed.

Steve looked at the archer as her right hand shot up to grip her left shoulderblade, the frown he'd worn when Stark picked at her deepening, "You okay?" He asked.

"Peachy… S' just an old injury." Evelyn nodded, closing her eyes with an inhale of air as her mind raced with questions.

Why was it hurting now? She hadn't had an incident like this in months, not since Puente Antiguo…? No, it wasn't possible.  
 _Was it?_

Lightning danced across the night sky outside the jet, and the three who secured the detainee noted his uncomfortable shifting on his seat.

"Don't tell me you're afraid of lightning?" Evelyn scoffed, noting his eyes looked up at the skylight as more lightning streaked and danced in the darkness.

"I'm not overly fond of what comes _with_ it," Loki answered dryly.

Her shoulder ached again, but she bit back the urge to wince, straining her ears only to come up with a rather odd conclusion.

Thunder foreshadowed lightning… There was no thunder in the charged air.

Stark and Steve exchanged a look when another bolt of lightning flashed rather vibrantly overhead, and the loud snarl of thunder that followed caused Evelyn to jump to her feet with a hand on her shoulder, earning both men to look at her as the thunder faded only for something heavy to drop onto the jet's roof, causing it to shake a little.

Her green eyes were on the hatch as Stark, who had put his helmet back on as Steve had lifted his shield, pushed the button for the hatch door to open to check on the noise only for a figure to land in the opening. She reached for the small gun strapped to her thigh but halted her movements when she recognized the figure.  
 _  
How could she forget, after all?_

The blonde god took little notice of them as he found their detainee and lifted him by the scruff, punting Stark away when he attempted to stop him; once having hold of his brother, the blonde then exited the jet and both disappeared into the clouds below.

"Another Asgardian?" Romanoff asked from the front seat.

"Think he's friendly?" Steve asked as Stark had pulled himself up only to stride for the door.

Stark replied blandly, " _Dunno, but if he either kills or frees Loki, the Tesseract is lost_."

"Hang on, we need a plan of attack!" Steve exclaimed over the winds that howled when the hatch was opened again.

" _I **have** a plan… attack_." Stark stated before he jetted off into the dark clouds beyond them.

Evelyn groaned. "This is going to end badly…"

"I'd sit this one out, you two!" Romanoff suggested from the cockpit as she pressed a few buttons.

"And let them kill each other?" Evelyn wondered blandly as Steve found a parachute and started buckling it on, and she grabbed his arm. "Hang on, I'm coming too."

"These guys are from legend, they're basically gods!" Romanoff reminded.

Steve huffed slightly, "There's only _one_ God, ma'am, and I'm sure he doesn't dress like that!" Securing the second belt of the parachute around the archer's waist and making sure he had his shield, both archer and super-soldier took off after the odd trio into the darkness.

 **|~ii~|**

"Then prove it; put the hammer down." Steve tried to coax the blonde to calm down.

Stark's face paled as he looked over at the blonde soldier, "No, bad call; he really loves his ham…" He didn't get to finish his sentence as the blonde god swung said weapon at his face and sent him flying back.

" _You want me to put the hammer down!?_ " The god demanded angrily as he was gearing up for another blow.

A small bullet whizzed past his ear to hit a tree not far behind, causing him to stop as the soldier also paused, both blondes looking at the brunette who wielded the gun.

"Thor!" The archer declared, earning a confused look from the soldier as the god perked up at hearing her voice. She lowered her gun as she stepped closer to the scene, her eyes on the blonde's blue gaze that had widened in shock. "Enough."

"Evelyn." The blonde god said quietly, as he didn't fail to recognize those hunter green orbs and her fair and lovely face framed with locks of dark brown hair.

A small smile of relief formed on her lips and she nodded. "Been a while, love."

" _ **You know each other**!?_ " Steve and Tony barked in unison, making the reunited friends blink and look at them.

The archer shrugged, "Long story." She smiled rather weakly at both men.

"A ' _long story_ ' that needs further explanation!" Steve commented, earning a scowl from the blonde god whereas the archer rolled her eyes at his words.

Not long after they were gathered again in the jet and on the way to the hovercraft base.

Both super-soldier and billionaire were looking between the blonde god and the brunette archer as the god hadn't seemed to let his eyes leave her form, whereas the archer wasn't entirely looking in his direction but rather had her eyes closed as if in deep thought or dozing.

When the jet landed on the base's runway and Loki was escorted out by more soldiers from inside the base, the trio of men followed, leaving the two women to take the tail.

Natasha caught the glances from the blonde god that were for the brunette walking with her, and she folded her arms. "Looks like he missed you." She mused.

Evelyn ignored the glances from said blonde and gripped the string of her bow. "Didn't notice." She replied plainly.

The redhead shook her head with a slight scoff. "Kinda hard not to, Davies." If there wasn't enough _obvious_ attraction the blonde had for her comrade, then she didn't know what would prove it to the archer.

"You assassins notice everything, don't you?" The brunette rolled her eyes, giving her comrade a look.

* * *

 _ **an** : no i haven't forgotten you guys, don't fret! i was just having a bit of trouble kickstarting this chap... so yeah, my bad. anyway, wow, i can't thank you guys enough for the follows/faves! that's amazing, and with that, i hope you guys will review! one little review won't kill you, and it'll make my day. everyone wins! ;D until next chap, lates._

 _" **Bones** " by **MS MR**_


	3. Stardust In My Eyes

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* * *

 _{Ch.2} **Stardust In My Eyes**_

* * *

She ran a hand through her hair with a grumble.

Their little meeting, once the rest of the team –which had consisted of Director Fury and the soft-spoken Dr. Bruce Banner—had been assembled, had ended only an hour or so ago, and once it was over, both Banner and Stark had disappeared to the labs to study more intensely on the ' _glow-stick of destiny'_ ; Romanoff had left as well, and Evelyn had joined her to go to her own room and relax a bit.

But odd enough she couldn't relax, even after changing out of her ' _work clothes_ ' to get into a shower and then into a pair of black leggings, a baggy graphic shirt, and her faithful high school hoodie.

To be honest, she was restless, and bored.  
 _  
Must be out of my mind_ , she thought as she trudged down the hall away from her assigned quarters to the control room's large window to hopefully bore herself enough to need sleep.

Noting life had gone back to normal in the control room, or as normal as it looked if the control room resembled something she had seen in _Apollo 13_ , she accepted the quiet tapping and dull noises around her as she made a beeline to the window.

She looked out at the darkness beyond the window's glass, at the clouds that vainly lingered and refused to let her see the stars that dotted the velvety skies, and would've wholly enjoyed the quiet solace had she not taken notice of the blonde god that was speaking with Coulson. She pretended she didn't notice him, even as she listened to him speak from their place a bit of a ways on her left.

"…Rage followed me here, and your people paid the price; and now again. I courted war, in my youth." Thor's rumbling voice that she had, at one point after Puente Antiguo, ached to hear, said thoughtfully as he also looked out at the dark clouds that floated in the night.

"War hasn't started yet." Her ears pricked at hearing Fury's voice, and she again pretended she didn't hear. "You think you could make Loki tell us where the Tesseract is?" He asked the god.

The blonde frowned slightly, "Loki's mind is far afield, therefore I don't know. But it isn't just power that he craves, it's also vengeance… upon me. There's no pain that would derail that need from him." He explained.

"A lot of guys think that before the pain begins." Fury said.

"What are you asking me to do?" Thor asked.

"I'm asking what you're _prepared_ to do."

"Loki is a prisoner…"

"Then why do I feel that he's the only one who wants to be here?"

Evelyn fiddled with one of the drawstrings on her hoodie's collar, her own mind wondering just what Loki would hope to accomplish in this basic genocide he had planned out for Earth.

"Agent Coulson, come with me; I'm sure these two kids need to get reacquainted." Fury said then, making her ears prick as he caught the look from her as the blonde looked between he and the brunette; Coulson nodded and both men left the friends to their motives.

A rather still silence fell between god and archer.

Evelyn placed her hands in the pocket of her grey hoodie and pretended to take a great interest in the darkness beyond her reach as she heard the blonde shuffle towards her. Her ears turned red and she was grateful her mane of dark hair she'd let down after the shower hid the sight from his vision as he sat with her.

She hadn't seen Thor in months, practically a year, and to reunite in a situation like this… Her shoulders slumped with an audible sigh that disturbed the silence.

"You are well, then." His low voice that spoke quietly made her stiffen, and she lowered her head slightly; when she risked a look at him, his eyes were on her as he hoped for her to speak.

Reuniting with him had her more tongue-tied than when they had first met.

She shrugged a little. "As well as can be expected…" At times she hated beating around the bush, and today was one of those times; she had had a rough day, and all she wanted was to be alone with her emotions and sleep. "You look better than last I saw you." She admitted, not meeting his eyes.

Thor smiled a little at her returned compliment, of sorts, but his smile fell when she refused to meet his gaze. He frowned. "Why don't you look at me?" He asked.

Evelyn lifted a hand from her hoodie pocket to brush some of her fringe back, looking at the darkness. "Not exactly good with silence, are you?" She huffed slightly.

"Evelyn, look at me." He sighed through his nose.

"Why didn't you return sooner?" She demanded softly, causing him to fall silent, and she hunched her shoulders. "I'm comfortable, y'know, being alone. I always _have_ been, for as long as I can remember… But _you_ , you just _waltzed_ into my life and then…" She closed her eyes and scoffed humorlessly. "You're not here for _me_ , so why should I bother complaining to you in the first bloody place?" She mused.

"It was not as easy as you would wish to believe, conjuring enough dark matter for me to return. I made you a promise, and I intended to keep true to it, but then Loki…" Thor also closed his eyes to pinch the bridge of his nose, and he exhaled as he opened his eyes. "I am sorry that I broke my promise. You do not deserve that… I don't wish to hurt you again, as I once did." She didn't know that he had tried to come back for her in the past, many times he had tried, and she didn't know that he had missed her dearly… Yet here she was, stronger in physical body and sharper than a knife, and hurt with him for breaking his promise.

Evelyn listened and absorbed his words, and she looked at him for a minute to see the sincerity in his blue orbs she had felt called to her in that dusty desert beneath the stars, his assuring smile that brightened his bearded face… She closed her eyes and lifted a hand from the pocket of her hoodie to punch him in the shoulder hard.

Fighting a brief wince at the strength of her punch, Thor looked at her as she exhaled through her nostrils. "What was that for?" He asked confusedly.

"You're an idiot, you know that?" Evelyn groaned, folding her arms as she met his confused stare and he blinked once at her words; at finding his confused and innocent look reminded her of a puppy, the corners of her lips threatened to curl into a smile. "But you came back. A bit late, but it doesn't matter." She cleared her throat and looked away.

Thor caught the hints of a smile on her lovely face and his blue stare softened. "I have missed you too, Evee." He replied.

Her cheeks colored slightly and she coughed, refusing to look at him in shyness; she surprised him when she straightened to her feet, earning a look from the blonde. "Come on, I'm sure the cafeteria has some coffee." She looked at him and nodded her head, placing her hands in the pocket of her hoodie as she turned to locate the cafeteria.

Watching her go, he straightened to his feet only to follow at her heels, finding he was still taller than her by a head; his eyes rested on her agile frame and they softened as they landed on her back.

He felt that she had forgiven him… or at the very least, had started to forgive. It was good enough for him.

 **|~ii~|**

The dark gray graphite etched the structure of his nose on her paper.

Looking up again, the archer caught the fond warming in his blue eyes as he had strayed from the pose she had requested he be in; she ducked her head to chuckle and look up at him. "Can't you be a bit more mature about this?" She asked in mild exasperation, lowering her mechanical pencil.

Her muse smirked rather cheekily and quirked a brow, pretending to be innocent. "Surely it isn't very difficult for you to draw someone you have seen more than once." He replied knowingly in his low voice.

"It's easier if you aren't distracting me, love." She breathed a laugh, catching his pleased smile on his bearded face; shaking her head despite the warmth rising in her cheeks, she continued to sketch.

"So I distract you, then." He said in a tone that made his pride that much more visible.

Evelyn refused to let him see he had her wits frazzled –shouldn't she have gotten over that sensation by this point?— and scrubbed gently at a stray line on the paper with her eraser. "I'm not answering for the sake of my sanity." She said, managing to sound composed, even though she did indeed get distracted with him. Often.

Thor cocked a brow at her response, knowing just by the reddened color of her cheeks that she was indeed flustered; he smiled in satisfaction, remaining in place as she continued to draw. "How is it coming along?" He wondered.

"Just about… finished." She scribbled her signature on the lower corner of the sketch and smiled on it with a warm twinkle in her green stare, before she flipped it to show her muse. "Well?"

He tilted his head slightly and looked on a mirror image of his profile in graphite, even down to the scruff of his beard… His smile widened into one of those smiles that made something in her chest ache. "It's very well done… Spitting image, even." He said as she beamed proudly, the same fond warmth rising again in his blue stare at seeing the actual smile on her lips.

"Keep it… Just consider it a token from me." _For when you return to Asgard_ , she urged as she handed the paper to him.

Thor looked at the portrait again and nodded, before he recalled the parcel he had brought from Asgard. "I did not know if I would see you again, but on the chance that I would…" He lowered a hand to the belt of his trousers and pulled the parcel from its place tied to his belt, giving it to her.

Evelyn looked at the gift wrapped in a velvety emerald cloth with a yellow tie and she undid the tie to reveal two silver daggers that had thin carvings wrapped around the handle colored dark brown. Eyes widening at the gift, she looked up at him again, "Thor… these are beautiful. Why daggers, though?" He didn't know she had joined SHIELD, did he? Otherwise why else would he have given her a set of Asgardian weapons?

"An archer is not without her blades, is she?" The blonde replied with a knowing look in his handsome face, sitting back in his seat.

The brunette felt her cheeks color and she looked down at the blades, smiling fondly at his gift. "I suppose your parents know of me, don't they?" She wondered as she lifted her stare to meet his, having the feeling that his father had said he be a chivalrous prince and bestow her with gifts, even if she was still technically a Midgardian.

"They do, actually. My mother was the one who had those forged for you… She said she would hope for the day you were to meet them, on Asgard." He nodded, smiling fondly again as he briefly entertained the notion of finally bringing Evelyn to live among his people.

"Well with those wishes, how can I refuse?" Evelyn shrugged sheepishly, looking down and examining one of the blades, tracing her fingertip along the flat face of the dagger's sharp side.

Thor watched her finger trace the line of the dagger's blade dividing one part from the other, and he lifted his stare when hearing the door to the break room ' _beep'_ , recognizing the blonde super soldier by his star-spangled outfit as he entered the room to make a beeline for the food.

Evelyn had also heard the beeping and looked at her comrade, smiling, "Morning, Cap." She greeted as the blonde was occupied with placing a small stack of pancakes on his tray, having already gotten a few other things before the pancakes.

"Morning, Evelyn, and… Thor. You two are up early." Steve greeted in return, having cocked a brow at seeing the odd couple was seated at one of the small tables in the cafeteria; odd, given they had barely said a word to each other the night prior… He didn't want to fathom just what had transpired between them.

"Evelyn and I have just been… catching up, is it? Most of the night." Thor supplied, having recalled he had barely touched his coffee to watch the archer draw, and he took a sip from the small white cup.

Evelyn raised a brow at his quick response, briefly wondering if this was some form of possessiveness he had over her; while the majority of her bristled at the thought of being a man's object, the remainder felt some form of flattery that he had seemed to fancy her much more than before. "Looks like you're feeding an army." She gestured with a nod at the small mountain of food on his tray.

Steve chuckled slightly, carrying the tray with some measure of grace as he moved to sit with them, pulling up the third chair to sit down. "Don't see you eating like you have a tapeworm… Or is it not ladylike?" He returned, recalling her coarse language the night prior with Stark.

"I've toned it down, mind you… _Right_ , like a lady behaves cordially while firing an arrow at her target." Evelyn smirked, taking a generous sip of juice from her own cup.

"I am surprised you don't drink coffee," Thor mused, perking her ears.

"I don't drink much caffeine, if any. Mum always said it would stunt my growth." Evelyn shrugged, smiling a little at him.

"Suppose wisdom did not skip a generation." The god smiled wryly, causing the archer to look away briefly with a chuckle.

Looking between the odd couple again, Steve smiled a little, taking a stab into his eggs with his fork, thinking on the comment the billionaire had told him earlier; his smile fell a smidge. "Evelyn, you know about SHIELD and what they do, right?" Seeing as Thor had otherwise not been in the know about this, it was easier to ask the archer.

Her brow crinkled slightly as she replied, "just enough to trust them; I was hired because they wanted to keep tabs on me since New Mexico…" At noticing the pensive light in his blue eyes, her shoulders slumped a little and she exhaled. "You shouldn't pay mind to what Stark says; he's just sore because this mission isn't solely focused on him." She pointed out, sipping her juice.

"I know that, but it seems something fishy is going on; why else would SHIELD call us in now?" Steve exhaled, looking at her seriously.

Evelyn paused in downing her cup of juice, frowning a little. "So you think the director is hiding something, then." She mused.

"No… well, I'm not sure yet. I just think it needs some looking into; not that I believe Stark, because it's hard to decide if he's being serious or sarcastic." Steve shook his head.

The trio lapsed into companionable silence as the soldier finished his food before he left the room to do some digging, leaving the couple alone.

Thor looked at the archer as she stood from her chair and stretched, left to wonder if trusting SHIELD wasn't folly in the end. "You think Stark is suspicious of SHIELD." He did not ask, given the thoughtful look in her green eyes as she picked up her empty cup and tossed it in the trashcan.

"It's not as if I trust Stark; and I don't trust much in SHIELD either. I only remain loyal because they gave me a job, taught me to control my strength… But for all that he is, Stark isn't dishonorable." He just had an odd way of getting along with people; she was no different, really. She perked up slightly as her earpiece beeped in her ear, and she lifted a hand to tap it with her finger. "Talk to me."

" _Davies, is Thor with you?_ " Romanoff's voice asked in her earpiece.

"Yes, we're in the cafeteria. What is it?" Evelyn replied, meeting the aforementioned god's curious look and she shrugged.

* * *

 _ **an** : ayoooo what's up guys? sorry for the month-long wait! didn't mean to happen, honest; just been juggling this fic and my main Tolkien fic. and if interested in that, feel free to check it out. regarding this chap, hopefully i did Thor some justice? i think i might've gone a bit ooc... or did i? also, another update, i changed my tumblr url again: ( ). it's a bit of a mess on there but there's mainly tolkien and marvel, so again, feel free. and thanks for the increase in favs/follows, guys! i can't thank you enough. gotta jet so later! (:_


	4. Heretic on Trial

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* * *

 _{Ch.3} **Heretic on Trial**_

* * *

"…The world hasn't changed a bit." Steve said as he was rather hurt about being lied to by SHIELD the whole time.

Bruce looked to Fury as he asked, "Did you know about this?"

"Have you thought about removing yourself from this environment, Doctor?" Natasha cut in as she, Evelyn and Thor entered the room.

"I was in Calcutta, I was pretty well removed." Said scientist scoffed humorlessly as he removed his glasses to carefully hold them in hand.

"Loki is manipulating you."

"And you've been doing _what_ exactly?"

"You didn't come here because I batted my eyelashes at you."

"Well I'm not leaving just because you get trigger-friendly. I'd like to know why SHIELD is using the Tesseract to build weapons of mass destruction!" Bruce finally gestured to the holographic monitors that detailed the blueprints for ' _Phase Two'_.

Fury gestured to the odd couple, "Because of _them!_ " At the otherwise-confused look that adorned the two's faces, he continued, "Last year, the earth had a visitor from another planet who decided to have a grudge match that leveled a small town. We learned that not only are we not alone but we are hopelessly, _hilariously_ outgunned…"

"My people want nothing but peace with your planet." Thor was first to defend.

Fury stated, "But you're _not_ the only people out there, are you? And you're not the only threat. The world's filling up with people who can't be matched. They can't be controlled…"

Steve cut in, "Like you control the Cube?"

"Or _me_ , and my powers?" Evelyn added cattily.

"Your work with the Tesseract is what drew Loki and his allies to it; it is a signal to all the realms that earth is ready for a higher form of war." Thor stated.

" _'Higher form'?"_ Steve echoed.

"You forced our hand, we had to come up with…"

"Nuclear deterrent, because that always calms everything right down." Stark said sardonically.

" _This_ coming from the man who's famous for crafting weapons that may or may not be his ultimate demise?" Evelyn wondered as she turned her irritation to the billionaire.

Steve commented, "I'm sure if he still made weapons, Stark would be neck-deep…"

"Hold on, how is this now about me?" Stark asked as he scowled between the two.

"Isn't it _always_ about you? It's obvious to see that an entitled sexist with his trademark surname has everyone's _undivided attention_." Evelyn drawled as green met brown and a steely look stole into her eyes.

"I'm sorry but why are you here, again, _rookie?_ Or are you just now realizing you've been on a tight leash ever since SHIELD found you?" Stark returned in the same tone.

"Call me that _again_ and you'll look like a bloody _rust-bucket_ when I'm done with you." Evelyn growled out.

"I thought humans were more _evolved_ than this?" Thor demanded as he caught Evelyn's bicep in his hand when she took a subconscious step forward, scowling slightly between her and Stark.

"Excuse me, do we come to your planet and blow stuff up?" Fury wondered flippantly as he turned to the demigod.

Evelyn looked from one to the other as everyone began to speak rapidly amongst each other and her ears ached as the noise turned into a tedious roar before a dull throbbing rippled up her spine to center predominantly in her left shoulder.

There was something wrong about all this, especially if her shoulder started hurting again… Manipulation was afoot, and she had a pretty good idea who was behind it.

"You speak of peace but you court chaos!" Thor finally stated, causing the room to grow quiet.

Banner folded his arms, "It's the MO isn't it? I mean, what are we anyway; a team? No, no, we're a chemical mixture that creates chaos… We're a time-bomb."

"Um, Dr. Banner…" Evelyn began at noticing he had subconsciously inched closer to the propped-up scepter.

"Y'know, why shouldn't the guy let off a little steam?" Stark wondered as he placed a hand on Steve's shoulder in a seemingly-friendly manner.

To anyone but said man, in this case.

Steve bristled in disgust with the shorter man's attempt to play nice, "You know damn-well why, back off!" He snapped as he shoved his hand off.

The tension in the room steadily increased and Evelyn fought off the mild throb her shoulder gave.

"I'm starting to want you to make me…" Stark taunted as he and Steve glared at each other.

"Yeah… Big man in a suit of armor; take that off and what are you?"

"Genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist."

Steve huffed, "I know guys with none of that worth ten of you. I've seen the footage… all you really fight for is yourself. You're not the guy to make the sacrifice play, to lay down on a wire and let the other guy crawl over you."

"I think I would just cut the wire," Stark remarked calmly.

Steve laughed slightly at his selfishness, "Always a way out; y'know, you may not be a threat but you'd better stop pretending to be a hero…"

" _'A hero'_ , like you? You're a lab experiment, Rogers… Everything special about you came out of a _bottle_." Stark snapped coolly.

Evelyn glared at him despite the throbbing in her shoulder.

"Put on the suit, let's go a few rounds." Steve returned in the same manner before quieting when hearing a chuckle from the side.

Thor smirked humorlessly, "You people are so petty, and tiny…"

Fury looked to the redhead, "Agent Romanoff would you please escort Dr. Banner back to his…"

" _Where_ , exactly?" Banner interrupted then, "You rented my room."

"The cell was just in case…" Fury started again only to be cut off again by the scientist.

"In case you needed to kill me but you _can't_ ; I _know_ , _I tried!_ " Banner cut him off, causing the others to quiet as six sets of eyes fell on him, and even he quieted a little as he continued, "I got low, I didn't see an end so I put a bullet in my mouth only for the other guy to spit it out. So I moved on and focused on helping other people, and I was _good_ until you went and dragged me back into this _freak show_ , putting everyone here at risk…" Evelyn's eyes tightened at his subconscious action as she reached for one of her new daggers, watching him look to her fellow woman, "You wanna know my secret, Agent Romanoff, how I _stay calm?_ " He asked pointedly.

Her shoulder was throbbing as fiercely as it had a year ago, and Evelyn glanced up at seeing Thor shift a little in an effort to shield her from whatever was going to happen next.

"Dr. Banner, put down the scepter." Steve finally spoke in an effort to ease the tension in the room.

Bruce only glanced down at the alien spear in hand before everyone slightly started when one of the monitors began to wail as it had pinpointed the Cube's coordinates. "Sorry kids, guess you don't get to see my party trick after all." He said as he returned the scepter to its perch and stepped away to check their findings.

"About bloody time." Evelyn breathed in relief.

"I can get there faster!" Stark volunteered as he also went to check the monitors.

Thor commented pointedly, "the Tesseract belongs on Asgard, no human is a match for it!" Unfortunately for him it seemed hardly anyone took note of his words.

"You're not going alone," Steve declared as he moved to stop Stark only to be shoved off by said man.

"You gonna stop me?"

"Put on the suit, let's find out."

"I'm not afraid of decking an old man."

" _Put_. _on_. the damn suit."

Evelyn stepped away from her place to see what Banner was staring at, looking on the holographic screen as the readings on the Cube stated that it was practically right infront of them. Hang on, this didn't make sense, why would it be so close to the scepter? Unless… She stepped away to look out the large window of the room and at the blue skies beyond them and around them as it hit her.

"Shit."

A loud bang then shattered the tension as the floor beneath them exploded so those in the room were thrown off in different directions.

 **|~ii~|**

Even though the fall should have left her in pain for weeks, it actually felt like she'd been thrown against a padded wall.

She ducked behind one wall as the cacophony of alarms and officers rushing around to their various stations was akin to a dull drone in her ears, poking her head out from around the corner to find she was safe. She slipped out to run for the research level of the ship at top speed.

Hill's orders for them to suit up and patch up the ruined engine plus deal with the hostiles may as well have fallen on deaf ears because she knew two things.

The Hulk would rip the ship to shreds if he wasn't stopped, and Loki was undoubtedly using this as a diversion to escape.

Both problems were ones that she couldn't let ensue, despite her renewed distrust in SHIELD.

Hopping the last few steps of the stairwell that led down to the beginnings of her intended floor, she nearly jumped when another roar erupted from somewhere nearby as the floor seemed to quiver under her boots. The archer flexed her grip on her bow and inhaled to will her nerves back in order, jogging to the source of the outburst and rounding another corner only to collide with something hard.

Both people hit the metal floor with a combined ' _oof'_ as she had landed atop the other, and she drew a dagger from her belt to press the blade close to the soft skin of the other's throat only to relax a smidge at meeting a familiar pair of striking blue eyes that glanced from her new weapon to her hardened green irises.

"You have gotten strong after all." The demigod rumbled pensively as he briefly noted the warrior-like sense she gave off.

The archer calmed even though their compromising position sent unbidden shivers down her spine and she got off him. "You should try voicing your arrival next time." She returned with a slight huff as she returned the dagger to its sheath at her left thigh, offering a hand of aid that he took in his larger hand and helping him to his feet.

Thor smirked at her remark before his smirk faltered as another roar sounded, and he reflexively ducked behind the same wall she hid against, looking to her when they both heard no sound of footsteps headed in their direction.

Blue met green and she gave a brief nod before they followed the sound and maintained their discretion before stopping at another corner minutes later when hearing the heavy footfalls of their transformed ally, leaning against the wall.

The Hulk lurked about in the darkened hall and was stumbling as he seemed to be on the hunt for something or, as much as they didn't hope to believe, some _one.  
_  
Thor began to leave their hiding place when being caught by the archer's slender hands that grabbed onto his forearm and drew him back. He scowled slightly at her, "Evelyn…"

"Rushing into this is _mental_ … Hulk is the most powerful creature on earth…" Evelyn tried to reason.

"And I am the most powerful god on Asgard." Thor stated without missing a beat as their gazes held firm.

Evelyn broke stares to exhale shortly, "that may be true, but I am _not_ the same mortal you met in New Mexico… We're in this together, are we not?" She questioned as she squeezed his wrist.

Thor paused for a moment to assess that she was indeed stronger than she had been a year ago, despite the niggling sense that he needed to protect her, and he nodded slightly. "We are."

Her gaze briefly softened and she said, "Good." She shuffled away to peek around the corner at the area only feet away and perk up a smidge at catching movement only to recognize Natasha's head of red hair that dashed past their hiding place; much to her dread, she had been spotted by the Hulk who tore after her and sought to attack her.

Natasha dodged his first swipe only to be knocked into a far wall when his second strike made contact and she slightly landed on her side.

"Natasha…" She hissed under her breath before looking to the blonde as he had also poked his head around the corner.

He nodded to the redhead, "Take care of her and I will deal with Banner." He instructed as their gazes met.

"Right." Evelyn hesitated for a second to then peck his cheek before she let him rush past her into the open to hurtle into the green monster and throw the both of them into the next room via the large hole in the thick wall. She exhaled slightly before jogging over to the redhead's side, "He didn't hurt you too badly, did he?" She asked as she dropped to her knees at her side and took note of the sheen of sweat on the other woman's brow plus the tight grasp she had on her side. "Natasha…"

Biting back a hiss of pain, Natasha shook her head. "No, I'm just a little shaken up is all…" She took a deep breath before they both jumped when another deafening roar erupted from where the Hulk was. She looked up at the brunette who stood when seeing Thor thrown through a stack of cement bars yards away and tensed her grip she held on her weapon. "Go help Thor." She declared as she tried to get up only to hiss in pain again.

Evelyn looked at her attempts and frowned, "You're sure you don't need help?" She asked.

"I'm good, just go help him. Fighting the Hulk is going to take _two_ gods, Davies." Natasha replied as blue met blue.

Inhaling slightly, the archer nodded and clicked a button on her bow to let it fold into threes that she placed at her right hip. Flexing her fingers that curled into fists at her sides, she rushed into the fray just as the Hulk advanced on where he had thrown Thor. " _Oi!_ "

The large creature turned slightly at the call only to stumble back when a hard fist struck his left cheek.

Evelyn paused to deliver another blow when seeing the beast pause for a second at being struck by her and she could swear she saw the soft-spoken Banner silently apologizing for what he was about to do next before the green monster roared as he flew forward at her. She ducked his next strike and wove around his furious blows that would've probably sent her flying if she weren't as quick as she was, and she contemplated trying to appease to the scientist inside the creature if her countermeasures didn't work.

The year Thor had been gone from her life she had undergone training with SHIELD and had trained with the strongest agents the organization could offer if only to hone her powers and shape them to her liking. She'd even almost bested Steve on one bout when he had been called over to see how the ' _rookie_ ' was faring, thus explaining why she was soft on him to date.

Sending another fist careening at the archer, the mighty beast was caught by surprise when her slender hand's palm caught his blow with a humorless smirk on her lovely face as their gazes met.

Evelyn's right fist slammed hard into his nose and knocked the beast back a few feet; she slightly panted as her powers surged through her and seemed to make her blood sing. She hadn't fought this good in… well, _ever_. She rushed at the beast who shook his head like a dog with water in its ears to deliver a series of love-taps to his torso and face, knocking him further back, and she would've cowed him with a final blow if he didn't lash out and deliver a well-placed smack that caught her left side.

She fell back and landed hard against a small fighter jet as pain radiated throughout her body while her head spun. She blearily looked up at the beast that easily spotted her and advanced before being struck hard in the jaw by Mjolnir. The pain dulled as she tried to pull herself free of the metal her body had been molded into thanks to the Hulk's blow, and she looked over at the two as Thor had pinned said beast using Mjolnir as a weight.

Thor rushed for the beast only to be thrown overhead by the Hulk's free hand that had snatched him by his belt, looking at the creature who roared and tried to pry himself free as his sights fell on the archer who had gotten herself free of where she had been thrown and stumbled on slightly shaky legs while shaking off the pain. He would've briefly rejoiced at seeing her back up if the sound of repetitive gunfire didn't draw his attention to the wide window yards away that looked into the room. "Get down!" He said as his eyes quickly landed on her, watching her hit the floor before he called the hammer to him as it lifted from pinning the beast.

The Hulk snarled angrily as he sought to advance on the demigod when the hail of bullets broke through the glass and bounced off his tough hide like pebbles, turning his attention to the pilot who sought his ire, and he flew out at the jet with another roar of irritation.

Evelyn lifted herself up into a sitting position when the beast was gone at last and gave a sigh of relief before being hoisted to her feet to then be held fast to her companion's chest with a slight yelp. "T-Thor…" She began.

"I'm not sure whether you are the bravest or the most insane woman I've met, Evelyn." Thor cut her off as he had nearly crushed her to his chest, pulling back after she gave a squeeze to look on her, "Are you alright?" He asked.

"Yeah, I-um… Loki. He set this up to escape… I just knew." Evelyn nodded as she cleared her throat before meeting his gaze with hardened green eyes.

Thor caught the softness towards him she shoved to the back of her mind before he nodded as her words registered. "Then we need to stop him." He said quietly.

 **|~ii~|**

The couple wasted no time in reaching the containment level to find, much to their horror, that the cell door was wide open and Loki was walking out of his proverbial cage.

"Thor, wait!" Evelyn barked as said blonde rushed forward to stop his brother from leaving; she perked up slightly as his image faded from sight for Thor to land in a slight heap inside the cell. She turned when the lone guard in the room rushed her from behind only for her right fist to strike home as she knocked him out with a single punch to the nose and he fell back with a ' _thud'_. She glared at Loki as he looked between his caught brother and her.

"The humans think we are immortal… Should we test that?" Loki wondered nonchalantly as he turned to the control panel and opened the hatch below the cell, letting a soft gust coursed through the room. He glanced back at the archer with a cold smirk on his face, "what say you, my dearest Athena?" He asked.

"Leave her be, Loki; don't touch her!" Thor shouted from inside the cell.

Cocking the gun she'd drawn from her holster, she pointed the barrel at said god, "Let him go and I won't beat you to death." She snapped with venom in her voice, and both gods present could swear they saw her green eyes brighten with her anger.

Loki only chuckled and dismissed the odd occurrence as he took a step towards her and away from the control panel. "How could you hope to ' _beat me to death_ ' when you've never killed a god before?" He hummed.

Stealing the split-second chance given to her, Evelyn flicked her wrist to send the handgun flying at him like a boomerang as she bolted forward to help Thor out from the cell, watching with surprise as Loki's visage faded from sight in that odd gold glow. She froze in place before wincing when a forceful hand yanked on her braided plait from behind and the feeling of cold steel pressed against her throat, a growl of annoyance catching between her teeth as she glowered back at the smirking god, "Should've known a mortal weapon wouldn't leave much of a scratch on your ego." She bit out.

"Release her, now, Loki!" Thor commanded from the cell, visibly frustrated with the sticky situation he was helpless to prevent.

"Too little too late, dear brother! Now that I have your precious goddess you've been pining for all these long months, I think it's time to say our farewells, isn't it, Athena?" Loki grinned cruelly at Thor and the evident rage in his blue irises, as he turned to the panel with a hand and looked on his brother one last time before smashing his palm down on the noticeable button that deployed the cell, watching the cell plummet down to earth miles below.

"…Yes it is. Goodbye, Loki." Evelyn said in a calm tone, her eyes she had closed now opened to reveal that her eyes were bright like before. She sharply headbutted him in the face and sent him stumbling away to give her a chance to escape, not even thinking twice about what she was going to do as she took the jump through the chute.

She plummeted through the air and shut her eyes tight to control her powers again, closing them as she refocused and then opened her eyes as, using the powers she had been given and honed in the last year, she maneuvered her plummeting body to face head-first. Silently thanking God for managing to do that, she focused her sharpened sight onto the large container and the blonde inside who was trying to escape yet was miserably failing to do so.  
 _  
Help me_ , she thought as she caught his eye when he looked at her form steadily dropping closer to his cage, using her arms she crossed to cover her head as a means of protection to then crash into the thick glass. She gave a yelp when she landed inside the cell and nearly broke to the other end when the blonde snatched her hand in his, looking at him from his place lodged near the first hole with surprise as blue met green again and she let him pull her to his chest.

Noting the cracks she'd delivered to the second wall of glass, Thor fastened his grip on the hammer's tether that coiled around his knuckles as he looked at her again and she gave a slight nod at understanding his idea, tightening his hold on her small waist as he used Mjolnir to crash through the damaged wall and out into the open air.

* * *

 _ **an** : hope this makes up for the unnecessarily-long hiatus from this story, thanks to those of you who've kept up with it and those of you who've just started following and faving this story. r&r please, thanks, and later! :)_


	5. War-Paint

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* * *

 _{Ch.4} **War-Paint**_

* * *

Seven hells… What the hell happened?

Cracking her eyes open, her vision began to focus on the greenery before her eyes, and she blinked once and then twice to find she wasn't so much in pain as she was sore. She gingerly sat up and rubbed her temples, looking at her surroundings to find she'd landed on solid earth covered with tall grass which left her to believe they had landed on an uninhabited patch of land.  
 _  
They_ … Wait.

"Thor?" She called, ignoring the faint protests her sore body gave as she steadily got to her feet, looking about as she realized she had gotten away from the crash only because Thor's sturdy body had protected her from most of the impact. Oh hell, then if that was the case… "Thor!" She called again as she looked around with worry pooling in the pit of her stomach as it began to darken her green eyes.

"You are awake then." The sound of his boots crunching on grass and his voice coming from behind her made her jump slightly, and he was there when she turned to face him, as dirty and tired-looking as she.

Evelyn's shoulders slumped as she smiled in relief, looking at him again when seeing he didn't possess his weapon and a frown tugged at her brow. "Are you alright?" She asked.

"I am." Thor nodded as he looked at her for a moment before giving a short exhale. "I am just not sure how best to feel now that you are more capable. I was not entirely aware of your powers when we met, and I still feel the need to…"

"Protect me." Evelyn finished quietly, seeing him nod as his blue eyes fell on her, and she shrugged slightly, "Guess we're both in the same boat, aren't we?" She caught his slightly confused expression and she elaborated, "You're not sure how to approach me now that I actually know what and who I am as much as I'm unsure of what to do anymore… I thought I could trust in SHIELD and what they did for me, making me hone my powers," she looked down at her left hand and enclosed it into a light fist before she lowered it to hang by her side, "But in retrospect they only made me a weapon on a leash. I don't know how to go on, Thor, after this…" She shook her head.

"You are still you, above what you've learned in my absence. I must admit that I still do not know how to handle this new reality, but perhaps we could try to return to before we were when I returned to Asgard…" Thor said, watching her head lift slightly as he could see tears begin to prick at the bottoms of her brilliant green eyes, and his face softened as he added, "It has felt like more than mere months since I have seen the same woman I met under the stars."

Feeling her cheeks warm, Evelyn nodded as she broke stares with him to smile humbly, "That's the best idea I've heard all day." She chuckled, looking up at hearing him step closer to meet his eyes again as his calloused thumb stroked her right cheek, making the heat deepen as she lifted her right hand to hold his hand there.

Thor would have dipped his head down to break the small spaces between them if a small beeping noise sounded from her left ear, and he reluctantly shied away as she cleared her throat and stepped away to tap on the earpiece.

"Davies?" She spoke, both relieved that her earpiece still worked despite the tumultuous afternoon and remorseful towards what should have happened between she and the blonde.

" _Evee, thank god you're all right!_ " A familiar voice said into the mic.

"Steve! Blimey… Where are you? Where is everyone?" Evelyn asked urgently.

" _You took the words right from my mouth; I'm fine, we're all fine, except for Dr. Banner… We're headed to Manhattan, Stark knows where Loki is going to be. He's going to open the portal, Evelyn_ …" Steve replied before his voice started to go in and out with static beginning to fill the spaces.

"Steve, hello? _Steve!_ " Evelyn declared as she then heard nothing more aside from garbled voices on the other end of the line, and she growled under her breath as she tapped the piece to turn it off, taking it from her ear to tuck it into a small pocket on her pants. "Bloody hell." She hissed in frustration.

"Where are they?" Thor asked as she turned to him from having nearly yanked the earpiece from her ear in frustration, searching her brightened green eyes.

Evelyn replied, "Headed to New York, that's where Loki is going to usher the Chitauri in through a portal…" She trailed off only to groan an oath and slap her forehead, " _Shit_. He's going to use the Tesseract to bring them here! We must go." She declared as seriousness shoved aside the measure of fear that threatened to overcome her lovely face.

Thor's gaze hardened at that and she caught sight of Mjolnir as he had retrieved it while she spoke to Steve, and he nodded. "You're sure you are ready for this?" He asked, recalling she didn't have any arrows for her bow.

Evelyn smirked humorlessly, "The fate of the universe lies on a motley lot of misfits, ourselves included… You know I am." She replied calmly.

The part of his subconscious that took comfort in her evident capability towards facing danger took pride in the confident spark in her green eyes, and Thor offered his hand to her.

Evelyn paused slightly before she took his hand.

 **|~ii~|**

Thor grimaced when being stabbed in the ribs with the blade and he glared at the smug smirk on his brother's face.

A jet of green energy then screamed at the darker-haired god and threw him away from his brother who took the moment to yank the blade from his side with a measure of disgust.

The blonde looked at where the alien blast had come to find the familiar visage of his archer. "Athena." He said quietly in surprise.

The archer glared through milky green eyes at his brother that picked himself up from the blow, her bow drawn with another green jet of energy nocked and meant as an arrow that she trained on the god of mischief. " _Touch him again and I will show you no quarter_." She threatened with venom and anger lacing her voice.

Said god looked her over for a few seconds before an eerie smile fell on his lips as he straightened. "Ah _there_ you are… Take a good look, Thor. Surely you remember what Father told us of the Athenians, a race blessed with knowledge and insurmountable strength whose demise was sorely sighted by…"

" _Enough!_ " Athena snapped as the bow near visibly quivered in her tightened grasp. " _The demise of my planet is not meant to be sullied by a vile mouth such as yours, son of Laufey._ " She let the arrow fly without another word and both watched as the projectile snagged him by his green coat's lapel and sent him flying over the far edge of the tower.

Thor began to open his mouth when the sight of Loki astride one of the smaller Chitauri ships sped off to the rest of the city and an irritable growl came from the goddess.

" _Coward!_ " Athena cried as she sought to rush after him to end the escaped god only for the hood of her green vest to be caught from behind, and she glared up at the blonde. " _Let me go!_ " She snapped.

"We did not come just to punish him; recall your senses, Evelyn!" Thor declared as he grabbed her shoulders and held her fast even though she squirmed and tried to pry away, tightening his grip as he inhaled and said, "Evelyn, you know me… Evee." He felt her stiffen in his grasp and she looked up at him in a measure of recognition.

"Thor…" Her voice sounded as it normally did, and her eyes returned to the brilliant hunter green hue he fancied, before she shut her eyes tightly and shook her head. "Ow… Blimey, I just… I saw him stab you and I…" She swallowed hard before looking away. "Oh, darling I'm sorry." She murmured.

"You have nothing to apologize for, you just… reacted. It is something I would've done if he had…" Thor trailed off as a frown pulled at his brows and he then released her shoulders.

Evelyn felt a smile form and she looked up at him as he drew away a smidge. "I know…" She quieted when her earpiece beeped in her pocket and she groaned slightly before retrieving it and placing it back in her ear. "Davies." Noone had worse timing than whoever was on the other end of the bloody connection…

" _If you two are done reciting the lines from Love Story, we need a bit of help getting rid of these alien freaks on the streets_." Stark's voice came over the mic.

Evelyn rolled her eyes and at Thor's puzzled look, she mouthed the billionaire's surname. "Missed you too, tin-man. Guess Loki didn't knock you about _too_ badly if your mouth still works." She remarked.

Stark scoffed, " _Cute, just get your asses down here, Green Arrow._ "

Thor caught the disgruntled look on her lovely face when she tapped the piece, and he chuckled. "Ready for another bout?" He asked.

Evelyn reflexively smacked his shoulder before smirking, "Are _you?_ "

The couple then descended to soon spot the rest of their comrades and then landed expertly with the blonde slightly stumbling when they landed only for the brunette to help him straighten.

"What's the story upstairs?" Steve asked when they landed.

"The barrier around the cube is impenetrable." Evelyn answered first as she stepped away from the blonde's side when he gave a slight nod to silently say he was fine and she gave him a mild look in turn.

"We're going to have to fight as a team if we want to win this." Steve said as he exchanged looks with Natasha and Clint as they came from the smoking remains of their pilfered jet.

Thor shot a look up at the tower, "I have unfinished business with Loki."

"Get in line," Clint remarked from adjusting the head of one of his arrows, nodding to his fellow archer, "Might have to start one, right Davies?" He asked.

Evelyn nodded back with a slight smirk, looking away when they then heard the distinct roar of a bike as Banner came forward from the rubble astride an old moped.

"So, this all seems horrible." Banner said as he cut the engine and stepped away from the bike.

Natasha frowned slightly, "I've seen worse."

Banner began at feeling ashamed for the day's earlier events, "Sorry about that…"

"No, we could _use_ a little worse." Natasha assured.

"Stark, we've got Banner." Steve declared as he spoke into the headset he wore under his helmet.

Stark replied, " _Tell him to suit up… I'm bringing the party to you_."

The line grew quiet then before an earsplitting roar erupted into the air and the rag-tag group then turned to see the familiar gold and red bot dart around the corner of a tall building. Unfortunately, he wasn't alone, as only seconds later a massive alien whale followed in the bot's wake with its large jaws snapping at Stark.

Evelyn gave a low whistle; "I-I don't see how that's a _party_ …" Natasha thought aloud.

"Dr. Banner, now would be a good time to get angry!" Steve advised the abnormally-calm man who stepped up to the charging whale.

Smiling wryly, Banner looked back at the odd group behind him as he said, "That's my secret, Cap… I'm _always_ angry." He then faced forward to shift back into the Hulk as the space between he and the whale continued to shrink, and the green beast slammed his fist into the whale's nose, causing the whale to pile up behind it and slowly lean forward to crush the group below.

" _Hang on!_ " Stark declared then as he shot a small missile at the body of the whale to make it explode and lessen the impending blow.

Steve shielded Natasha with his shield as the flaming debris began to rain down on them, and when the projectiles didn't make contact he cracked open an eye to see a wide and inwardly-curved green barrier that protected them all from the debris that evaporated when touching the dome.

All five misfits looked to the archer whose green eyes had brightened with the slight exhumation of her powers who then lowered her raised left arm to let the barrier fade and her eyes to return to their normal hue as she looked to her comrades with a slight nod.

The smoke cleared then as the Chitauri warriors clinging to the surrounding buildings howled their rage to the motley lot.

The seven backed up so they covered each other's backs as they looked to their enemy's ranks that surrounded them, preparing for the impending battle as more of the massive whales emerged from the portal.

" _Call it, Cap_." Stark urged as they watched their enemy's ranks influx before their very eyes.

Steve stepped forward with his eyes fixed on the portal, "Alright, listen up, until we can close up that portal we've gotta contain this. Barton, I want you on that roof with eyes on everything; call out the patterns and strays," he gestured to the top of the building where he wanted the archer to be stationed, "Stark, take the perimeter; anything gets more than three blocks out, you turn it back or to ash." He received a nod from said billionaire.

"Wanna give me a lift?" Clint asked as he stepped up to the bot.

Stark nodded, " _Yep, better clench up, Legolas_." He held onto the agent's quiver as they then took off to their stations.

"Thor and Athena," Steve then turned to the couple that looked about as shabby as the rest of them but were ready to fight, "You two need to try and bottleneck that portal; slow them down and give us time. You both have the power, light the bastards up." He received twin curt nods from them before he looked to the goddess, "Evelyn… Give 'em hell." She only winked before turning to the demigod as they walked off to take their position.

"You do know you're going to have to have that looked at." Evelyn commented when they were about a block away from their comrades.

Thor made a face, "I have no idea what you're talking about…"

"Thor." She stopped them with a hand on his wrist, looking up at him as their gazes met. "The Empire State Building is the tallest point here." She declared as she gestured to said landmark. "You take the Empire State Building and I'll take the building nearby; per the captain's orders." She slightly tilted her head back at their comrades.

He nodded and smirked slightly in return, hooking his arm around her waist and propelling the both of them upward to the tallest point of the building before releasing her.

She bit down on her lip as she steadied her footing on the smoothed and slightly-slanted surface beneath her boots, looking away to the building yards away on the left of their vantage point and mentally calculating that she could make the jump. "Right then, I've got this one." She assured both he and her slightly-bunched nerves regarding the gap she would have to cross, before starting to make her way to the furthest edge of the roof to jump.

"Wait." His familiar hand caught her wrist from behind and made her halt, and he added when their eyes met again, "I should have done this long ago." His head ducked slightly so their lips clashed and made her stiffen in pleasant surprise. He heard her sharply inhale through her nose before her slender hands held onto his scruffy face from both sides as she reciprocated, and he smiled against her lips before reluctantly breaking away to see a hint of remorse in her eyes when green met blue again.

She gave a breathy giggle, "Your timing is impeccable, darling." She chastely kissed him again before turning away to make the jump as the balls of her feet bounced off the furthest edge of the roof, and she landed in a slight crouch when she reached the adjacent building. She looked to him over her shoulder and watched as dark storm clouds gathered and accumulated to center on the tip-top of the building where he was harnessing their power using Mjolnir, and she would admit watching him act on his godly powers made her remember that she too could be that strong, before he raised the hammer heavenward.

Several thick bolts of lightning shot up into the darkened skies to strike at the glowing blue portal above them as a means of closing the portal, which, as they had figured, only enraged the alien soldiers that were already in the city.

Bowstring creaking, the archer harnessed another vibrant green jet to nock it in place as the first small Chitauri ship streaked to the landmark on her right.

 **|~ii~|**

The hulking alien snarled shrilly as it lunged at the woman in green.

A sharp ' _wham'_ sounded when her right fist connected with its face and sent it stumbling back before she lashed out with a dagger and felled it with ease.

Panting slightly, the goddess placed her hands at her sides and looked from where she had first started to standing in the middle of a war-torn street; she was winded, yes, but she wasn't done yet. Not today anyway.

A collective shrill screech sounded as it yanked her from her thoughts and back to the fray, and she acknowledged two more tall aliens rushed from both sides.

Flexing her knuckles, a wry smirk played at her lips as she glanced from left to right as the beasts got ever closer before she dug her heels into the concrete beneath and channeled her powers into her fists, a trick she had learned to use in her training.

The two aliens broke the distance between they and the goddess before she struck, her fists that now glowed with green slamming into the beast's chins from below and sending both flying until they hit the ground with a solid ' _thud'_. She spotted another four yards away that encircled the familiar patriotic soldier and she sprinted to his aid, sending a streak of green at one of the two before she leapt atop the back of the second one and stabbed one of her new daggers' blades into its skull.

Steve sidestepped the alien that fell at his left with a muffled ' _thud'_ and her dagger lodged in its skull, panting slightly as he looked on the goddess with a nod of thanks. "Doubt anyone's going to call you a rookie after today." He said with a wry smile as she stooped to retrieve her weapon.

Evelyn slightly laughed, "Is that a compliment, Captain?" She remarked.

"It sounded like one," Thor said as he regrouped with the two after cutting down another batch of aliens, looking on the archer even though another alien flew at him from behind to which he smashed its face with Mjolnir in hand, only to receive a shake of the head from Steve and a smirk from Evelyn.

"… _Can close the portal. Can anyone copy?_ " Natasha's voice then came over the com line, earning the trio's attention as they looked to Stark Tower.

"Close it…" Steve began to confirm.

" _Hang on!_ " Stark's voice then cut him off.

"Stark, are you mad? There's a chance we can end this…" Evelyn demanded into the earpiece.

" _Thanks for the update, Green Arrow, but I've got a nuke coming in, and I know just where to put it_." Stark remarked.

Evelyn rubbed a hand over her face, "Then blast the blooming bastards!"

" _No idea what Thor sees in you_." The billionaire scoffed over the line before his end quieted, and the three looked at the portal as the familiar gold and red bot streaked overhead with said bomb on hand to fly up into the large gateway.

"Son of a gun." Steve huffed as the bot disappeared into the portal with the nuke in his possession, and he then ordered Natasha to close the portal, watching as the hole in the sky began to slowly close in on itself.

A slight breeze caused by the closing portal played with loose locks of her dark braid as Evelyn watched the portal continue to close and, as much as the childish part of her that didn't agree with the man couldn't believe it so, she silently prayed he would make it back to earth. _Stark_ … She perked up in surprise as the portal closed just as a small form entered the earth's atmosphere again and she slightly squinted to then recognize the gold and red bot. "Oh blimey…" She felt a grin form on her lips at seeing their comrade returned before the grin faltered as she noticed the bot wasn't falling of its own accord, that it was plummeting… "Stark!" She cried and started to think of how she could try to save him from crashing into the ground and making a crater of himself when the large green form of the Hulk snatched the billionaire from his fall and ruined the side of a tall building in the process.

The Hulk dropped to land feet away from their odd trio and released the bot from his arm's crook as Steve, Evelyn and Thor rushed to their comrade's side with Thor yanking the metal plate off to give him air.

Evelyn scowled slightly in an attempt to not let sadness descend on her shoulders as the four surrounded the seemingly-dead billionaire in quiet. It was what felt like hours later, however, when a loud roar from the Hulk made Steve, Thor and Evelyn jump in surprise, as a somewhat-strangled yell of fear came from the billionaire whose brown eyes snapped open at the noise.

"Wh-what the hell? What just happened; please tell me nobody kissed me…" Stark asked hopefully.

Being one of the first to gather herself, the archer rubbed her hand over her face and groaned aloud, "No, but I'm going to beat the hell out of you for that!" She berated, looking up at the Hulk who gave another roar of relief, and she found herself laughing despite her exasperation with the billionaire.

"Ow… I don't know what sounds _scarier_ , hearing you actually give a damn about me or that threat!" Stark winced slightly as he looked at the archer.

Steve chuckled at the annoyed look on the woman's face as he gave a slight sigh of relief regarding their overall standing, "We won." He said with a nod at their surroundings.

Stark gave a loud sigh as he relaxed where he lay, "Alright, hey, good job, guys! Let's just…" He tried to sit up but failed. "Let's just not come in tomorrow, let's just take a day…" A pocket of silence fell on the group before he broke it, "Have you guys ever tried Shwarma? There's a Shwarma joint two blocks from here; I don't know what it is but I wanna try it." He proposed from lying on the ground and glanced over at the archer who rolled her eyes, "Don't knock it, Davies, don't they have at least one of them in England?" He jabbed.

Evelyn sighed, "I'm sure there's only one Shwarma here in New York made _specifically_ for you, Tony."

"We're not finished yet." Thor reminded them then, earning the four to look at him before they all looked to Stark tower where the other god was.

"… And then Shwarma _after?_ " Tony wondered quietly.

* * *

 _ **an** : so things are winding down BUT there is a third installation in this series! so before you guys write me off, stay tuned for the next installment yeah? :)_


	6. Asgard or Bust

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* * *

 _{Ch.5} **Asgard or Bust**_

* * *

"You're really leaving, then."

Looking over at the door of her room, she calmed at seeing the blonde captain and she turned away from packing her last bag. "It's only fair, isn't it? Long-distance relationships usually don't last, and it's not like I can keep working for SHIELD," she said wistfully, lifting a hand as a small green ember of sorts sprang to life from her palm. "Not with this." She added, smiling wryly at him.

It would be in poor taste if she didn't be true to Athena, either.

Steve nodded in agreement. "It's only fair." He stepped closer to extend a handshake to her, watching her briefly hesitate before she smiled and shook his hand. "This place is gonna be pretty boring without you around." It wasn't like this was goodbye forever, he figured; sooner or later she and Thor would come back.

Evelyn chuckled before turning to grab her bag and they left the room she'd been lent, and she briefly looked back at it before swiping her key to close the door so they left down the corridor. "Steve, can I ask you a favor?" She asked.

"Don't expect me to babysit your cat…" He gave her a wry look.

She giggled, "Winston doesn't necessarily belong to me as he does the streets… Try not to get yourself killed while I'm gone, yeah?" She gently jabbed his side.

Steve smiled and huffed slightly. "So long as you listen to your own advice." He replied.

 **|~ii~|**

The person on the other end didn't pick up her call, and she listened as it went to voicemail.

Inhaling steadily, the archer said, "Mum, it's me. Turns out I won't be home for Christmas… again. Suppose I'm not the most doting daughter, am I?" She felt the slightest prickle of tears that she stubbornly kept at bay, clearing her throat to also ward off an imaginary lump that she thought sat there, continuing, "My boss is working me to the bone, but I'm fine, everything is fine. I made friends, actually… Turns out they're about as odd as I am. I'll call when I'm available, yeah? Give my love to Dad… Love you, both of you." She wanted to tell them everything, about Athena and the Avengers and Thor, but she felt it was better to keep them in the dark about her new life.

For protection.

Evelyn hung up and turned her phone off shortly afterward, looking at the black screen for another few seconds before tucking it into the pocket of her green jacket, exhaling. She looked at the black vehicles that had arrived as soon as she left her message, watching a cluster of equally-black clad agents exit the larger van shortly before leading out the green-eyed trickster in their wake; she quelled a derisive snort at seeing him with thick cuffs and a peculiar muzzle strapped to his face.

A muzzle was long overdue for his chatty mouth, in her opinion.

"Evelyn?" A familiar voice said from the first vehicle.

Her ears perked and she looked to see Erik had come from the other vehicle carrying a small but heavy trunk, and she didn't hesitate to help him carry the trunk. "Sorry Erik, got distracted… You sure you're all right carrying this, then?" She apologized, finding it didn't weigh very much, although she didn't have to guess what was inside it.

Erik smiled wryly and waved it off, "Yes, I'm fine… Thank you for helping." He replied, letting her take it from his hands and he walked alongside her to where Loki and Thor had come to a halt. "I don't suppose this is farewell, is it?" He wondered.

Evelyn paused slightly before she chuckled despite the circumstances. "No, it isn't… I don't think so, anywho." She stopped short of the brothers and ignored the green gaze of one to hand the trunk to the other, "One second." She met his blue eyes and winked, before turning to give Erik a brief and last embrace, drawing back as they shared a smile. "Tell Jane that she's more than welcome to use my flat as a base… Goodbye for now, Erik." She said.

Erik chuckled slightly at her jibe and nodded as he stepped back, "Bye."

Thor regarded their allies that had come to send them off, looking lastly to his archer as she stood ready to depart, for a moment finding she did look best with her mane of brown hair framing her face… He looked at the Tesseract as she took hold of the handle he held onto of the object's container, her slender hand slightly covering his.

Loki only rolled his eyes across from them and she imagined he wanted to gag at their silent exchange of affection, taking hold of the other handle of the container.

Evelyn looked back at their odd group of friends they had made one more time and afforded a smile before a click sounded and the odd trio were enveloped in a bright blue glow.

Having looked away as the light threatened to blind them, the remaining Avengers looked at where the trio had stood to find they were gone.

* * *

 _ **an** : sorry for the lack of epilogue, lads, i've kind of had a lot of personal stuff going on around here. anyway, the third installment in the TCDI series is under way at 3k words. cool right?_


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